


SHIRO, PLAY!

by BajillionKittens



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 04:45:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9965924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BajillionKittens/pseuds/BajillionKittens
Summary: Bae Bae, the Holt family’s dog, is Shiro’s greatest admirer.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BossToaster (ChaoticReactions)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticReactions/gifts).



> I drew a quick strip about [Shiro inviting himself to the Holt's in order to play with Bae Bae](http://bajillionkittens.tumblr.com/post/157751277362/hey-bosstoaster-i-hear-you-wanted-some) and things snowballed from there.

Bae Bae and Shiro became best buddies approximately five seconds after they met—at least in Bae Bae's opinion. 

Shiro had ruffled Bae Bae's fur, rubbing his fingers back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Shiro had pat Bae Bae firmly on his sides—thunk, thunk, thunk. Shiro had thrown Bae Bae's bone—which Colleen wouldn't do because it was all slobbery—and he had thrown it way, way farther than Sam or Matt or Katie. And he'd throw it over and over and over again. Shiro had played tug-of-war. And he hadn't let go at the first sign of resistance. No, Shiro had held on. Shiro had fought back. And Shiro hadn't stopped ruffling and patting and throwing and playing until Bae Bae was ready. 

At the end of their first meeting, Bae Bae was so tired that he'd collapsed in his bed the moment he was back in the house and didn't stir until the next morning. Bae Bae was in love.

…

Bae Bae was a very well-trained, very intelligent dog, but once he knew Shiro was around—heard him, saw him, smelled him—he lost all of his doggy composure, obedience school went out the window, and he became a big, bumbling bundle of SHIRO! SHIRO, PLAY! PLAY NOW!

It got to the point that all the Holts had to do was say Shiro’s name and suddenly Bae Bae was racing through the house to get to the front door in hopes that his buddy was there. SHIRO, PLAY! 

Saying any word ending in a long O with a certain amount of inflection produced some amount of response. But again, Bae Bae was a very intelligent dog. He knew the difference between “Shiro” and “burrito,” thank you very much. Granted, he was usually half way down the hall before he remembered what that difference was. He would then slowly return to the room he’d just flown out of with a very embarrassed look on his face. Matt and Katie—masters of the long O trick—would collapse into giggles. Sam would grin his lopsided grin while suppressing a laugh. And Colleen would take the side of her third child, coming to Bae Bae’s defense. “Don’t tease him.”

…

Colleen didn’t remember what she said or even exactly when it happened. It was sometime in the months after “pilot error,” when she felt herself slipping into depression and she feared Katie was slipping into paranoia. She had said something that brought Bae Bae to his feet and sent him running for the front door. SHIRO, PLAY!

Colleen had almost forgotten about all that. It felt like salt and sand and glass in the still fresh wounds to her heart. The fact Bae Bae was looking for him and not their family, the memory of simpler times, the unwanted flash of happiness in the carefully constructed fortress of misery she was building for herself—it was too much. She screamed and yelled at Bae Bae in a way she’d never done before. He’d tucked his tail while cowering in the corner by the door. White showed around his eyes. It was weeks before he looked at her the same way again. 

It was the last time he ever bounded through the house in search of his buddy.

…

After Katie disappeared, it was just the two of them, Colleen and Bae Bae. Bae Bae grew older, grew fatter, grew lazier. So lazy that he couldn’t be bothered to raise much of a fuss over the giant green and black mechanical cats that touched down on his lawn, let alone the neighborhood strays. It wasn't until Bae Bae heard Katie and Matt's excited cries for Colleen that he finally perked up and joined Colleen in running out the door to them. His family was home! He had to greet them!

Amidst the hugs and the sobs and the laughter, Katie, Matt, and Sam all spared Bae Bae a scratch behind the ears. He jumped against their legs and barked and nuzzled against them. His family was home!

And they'd brought company. Bae Bae's ears stood at attention and he huffed at the sound of someone approaching. The man stopped in his tracks, still half way between the vehicles Bae Bae would have to sniff later and Bae Bae's family. Bae Bae stared at him intently. He didn't recognize this person. White hair, scars, tired-very tired. Bae Bae sniffed at him. That smell… 

Bae Bae's tail beat back and forth against the Holt's cluster of legs for just a moment before he bolted across the yard at full speed. SHIRO, PLAY!


End file.
